A Wizard's Tool: Reforged
by ReverseRaven
Summary: Young Nathaniel Grey is a student of magic, still only just learning the ropes. However, the world of magic is changing. Fantastic beasts are being summoned in from another world, performing feats that would take a young wizard many years to do by himself. Tensions rise as the newcomers upset the established order of things, and Nathan finds himself plunged into stormy waters.
1. First Contact

Author's Note: Three years ago I had an idea for a fic that asked the question "What would happen if Pokemon existed in a high magic fantasy setting?" and my answer at the time was the original "A Wizard's Tool." Unfortunately, I never got around to finishing that little project.

That being said, Reforged is my attempt at trying to do that idea justice, now armed with an extra three years of writing experience. I'll not keep you here any longer. I've already held this thing under lock and key all this time, after all.

Nathan yelped as his foot caught on a loose root for the third time that morning. Unlike the first two times, he managed to actually regain his balance this time. Landing on his ass twice had done wonders for shaking off his grogginess.

XXX

"How much longer is this going to take, Sid?" he asked, also for the third time.

His friend looked up from where he was crouching, showing him a handful of berries he'd picked from a nearby bush. "Just Dusk Caps left, Nate," he answered. Seeing Nathan's blank expression, he added "Mushrooms. I know where a patch of them grow, though."

Nate eyed the sun rising on the horizon and estimated they'd been here roughly an hour. "Fine, fine. We should still be back before classes start at this rate."

"Don't sweat it, Nate. I really owe you for coming out here with me."

They were in Green Pine forest, fifteen minutes away from the city of Seven's Crossing, capital of the Idivell Magocracy. It was nice enough, Nathan supposed, for a forest. It had trees, birds, all of the things that made forests forests, but he'd rather be back home working the forge.

Well, maybe not this early. He'd have preferred to be in bed.

As Sid rose to stand, Nathan was reminded of how big his friend was. Sid towered over almost everyone their age, save for maybe one or two people. The green jacket everyone from their class wore made him look like a walking, grassy hill at times.

Nathan felt more than a little insecure standing next to Sid's bulky, muscular physique, but then most people would have. He watched Sid put the berries carefully into his belt satchel before moving on, his eye catching the sheathed dagger hidden on the belt's rear. It was rare to see a mage with a physical weapon, but he'd seen Sid put it to good use.

"I hope whatever you're making with those plants is worth it," Nathan said.

"Oh, it will be. I found this old family recipe for a memory potion," Sid answered as they walked even further away from the city. "Supposed to help you remember shit while under stress."

Nathan sighed. "Right, our exams are coming up. Isn't that against the rules, though?"

Sid shrugged. "Well, it's a bit of help but it's not like I'm gonna have a cheatsheet on me during the test, yeah? I'm still gonna read the books."

Nathan shook his head. "Whatever. As long as I don't get called into the headmaster's office when they catch you. How much further are we-"

He stopped midsentence as Sid raised a hand in warning. They'd been friends long enough for Nathan not to doubt Sid's intuition. He pushed his hand into the green coat of his uniform, fingers wrapping tightly for something around his neck. His hand found the familiar shape of a silver dove tied to his neck by a matching silver chain. No sooner than touching his amulet, Nathan felt the magic in the air surrounding him, and willed it with his mind.

With a quick mental command, a transparent shield surrounded him in all directions. _Barrier_ was the first spell a mage learned, because preventing damage was a lot easier than having to heal it.

They hadn't wandered too far from the city, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Sid pointed in the direction of ten o' clock, and Nathan's eyes followed, watching for movement.

A large, grey form burst from behind the bushes, easily larger than a horse, with a hide like stone and a single, short horn at the tip of its snout. It charged forward on four stubby legs at surprising speed, Nathan barely managing to duck out of its way. As he pulled himself up he eyed the creature again. He had no idea what it was, but noticed the creature was badly wounded and bleeding.

Keeping hold of his amulet in his left hand, Nathan extended his right hand forward as he rapidly spoke the words of a _Magic Arrow_ spell. He felt the mana in the atmosphere flow into him before a blast of blue energy flew from his outstretched hand, landing on the creature's flank in a small explosion, but it seemed to shrug it off like nothing. He swore under his breath. He wasn't much for offensive magic.

The beast padded its foot on the ground, grunting something that sounded like "Rye Horn" before charging at him. Nathan swore. He didn't think his Barrier could take something like that.

"Skiddo, come out!" he heard Sid say. There was a flash of light and a small, goat-like creature stood before them, brown in color except for what looked like a mane made entirely out of grass around its neck.

He watched in amazement as the stone creature halted, eyeing the smaller creature with suspicion. Was that Sid's plan? To disarm it with this cute goat? Well, he didn't know what it was, but if it worked, he wasn't about to complain.

"Skiddo, use Vine Whip on the Rhyhorn! Pin it down!"

Almost faster than his eyes could see, a pair of vines sprung from the goat's mane. They lashed forward with incredible force, and all Nathan could do was watch in awe as the two flimsy vines actually pushed the creature back. They then lashed in turns, keeping it pinned like Sid had commanded. Nathan saw his chance and prepared another _Magic Arrow_, adding words to the incantation to overcharge the spell. He placed both hands on his amulet and focused, drawing the magical power around him.

Once released, five blue energy arrows appeared around him and blasted the creature in quick succession, and this time, it couldn't quite shrug them off. The creature fell in a heap, its four legs no longer able to support its exhaustion.

"We did it," Nathan managed to say, through gasps for air. He wasn't a powerful mage to begin with, and overcharging a spell made him feel like he'd been running for an hour straight.

Pain wracked his chest as he fell on all fours, heat simmering near his heart.

"Nate!" Sid cried out, helping him sit back up.

Nate gave him an appreciative nod to tell him he was okay before looking at the downed creature once more. "We did beat it, right?"

"I think so, but how did it get here?" Sid patted his goat creature on the head. "Good job, Skiddo. Stay out for a bit longer, though. We might not be out of the woods yet. You alright, Nate?"

Nate ignored the pun he hoped Sid wasn't doing on purpose and forced himself to grin.

"Yeah, I just need to catch my breath. Do you know what it is?" He pointed at their fallen enemy. Then, his eyes focused on Sid's new friend. "Actually, what is that thing over there with the vine tentacles?"

"Oh, I suppose I haven't introduced you. Nate, this is Skiddo, my Pokemon. Skiddo, this is Nate. He's a friend." The small goat bleated dearly, but Nathan dropped neither his Barrier nor his guard. He'd seen what it could do. "That poor creature over there is a Rhyhorn, I think. Or was it a Rhydon? I get the two mixed up. It's a Pokemon, too."

"What in the name of the Seven Sages is a Pokemon?" Nathan asked.

"You been living under a rock for the past month or so?" Sid asked.

Nate gave him a warning look. It wasn't his fault he was too busy helping out at home.

"Right. Well, they're - hang on. We have company."

"I thought I heard some rats moving in the brush," someone said. A boy with pale, silvery hair stepped into the clearing. He somehow managed to look down at both of them despite being a few inches short of Sid's height. He wore a uniform similar and yet different from theirs, dyed in the rich, navy blue of the Talented. Stoles depicting a white raven against a black background decorated his torso.

Nathan knew House Blackwell's coat of arms when he saw it, but even if he didn't, he knew this particular boy by face and name. He also knew he didn't care for him very much.

Unsurprisingly, Sid spoke up first. "Landon Blackwell. Good morning, your highness, fancying a nice stroll in the woods?" he asked.

"Drop the attitiude, rat, unless you want to be quashed." His dark eyes wandered to the downed Rhyhorn, and then to Skiddo. "I see you've been playing with some rather dangerous toys."

"Don't make me laugh, Blackwell." Sid pointed at the Rhyhorn. "There's no way a Rhyhorn would be out in the wild without a mage summoning it. Did you lose control of it? I thought you Bluebloods could do anything."

There was a shift in the air as Landon bristled. His next words dripped silent fury. "Mind your tongue before I control it for you." He stopped as if suddenly remembering where he was, and seemed to calm down. "As if I would lose control over a mere Rhyhorn."

Nate resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Landon could barely control himself, not that it made the situation any better.

He put a hand on Sid's shoulder and whispered. "Maybe don't piss off the guy who's top of his class." And just about every other class in the academy, Nathan thought but didn't bother saying. Sid should have known well enough whom he was antagonizing.

"Well, it sure isn't ours." Sid walked over to the fallen Rhyhorn. "I'm actually surprised it's still here."

"How do you mean? It's kind of collapsed, hasn't it?" Nathan asked.

"A _Weed_ who doesn't know how Pokemon work?" Landon grinned at him.

Nate stole a glance at the green uniforms he and Sid wore but said nothing.

Sid had other ideas. "Who're you calling a Weed, Blackwell?"

"The invalid who clearly doesn't belong in our Academy, of course," Landon answered. "How someone whose mother was a great mage could be so average is beyond me."

Nate glared at him, but didn't rise to the bait. They were far away from any witnesses. He didn't doubt Landon could take them both on and then feign innocence once they got back.

Seeing no reaction, Landon shrugged. "Let me explain, then. Pokemon are creatures from another world, with abilities that are, shall we say, similar to magic? Anyway, the spell that summons them has a fail-safe which sends them back to their dimension when they've taken too much damage. This one's just about done. Don't get too close."

As if on cue, the Rhyhorn disappeared in a flash of red light, leaving the ground disturbed where it had collapsed.

"Still, that does beggar the question of how it got here," Landon said. "How'd you two run into it?"

"It ran into us," Nathan said. He then described how Sid and Skiddo defeated the Rhyhorn. Sid supplemented his story where he missed a few details while Landon nodded in understanding.

"Sounds to me like a student summoned it and lost control," Landon said. "The beasts are easy to summon, but the Compulsion you need to put them under is a little trickier. Not for me, of course, but I can see why someone might have trouble with a Rhyhorn."

Nathan nodded. "It did seem like a pretty strong one."

Landon laughed at that, and Nathan felt not for the first time today like he'd missed out on a joke. "Oh gods. You're serious. Listen. Rhyhorn is the basic form of the Pokemon Rhydon. There are plenty of Pokemon far stronger than this. Anyway, if you're done here, I'd appreciate if you left. I need my peace and quiet."

"Since when was this your forest, Blackwell?" Sid asked. Nathan watched as Sid slowly inched his hand towards the dagger.

"Please stop posturing, pest." Landon waved a hand and a nearby tree began to move, followed by another, branches extending like gnarled arms. "You're outsiders in my Domain. Remove yourselves before I do."

"You made this forest your Domain?" Sid's hand dropped from his weapon.

"Sid? Time to go?" Nate asked as the trees seemed to move towards them.

"Fine, fine, I was just about done anyway. Come on, Nate."

XXX

They'd traveled in silence up until they reached the city gates, the gray-coated Peacekeepers greeting them as they went in. Once certain Landon couldn't watch them anymore, Nathan broke the silence.

"Can you believe Landon set up a Domain right outside the city?" he asked as they navigated the busy throughfare of Main Street, dodging both workers and people taking a stroll to one of the few food and drink establishments that operated so early in the day. "I know he's highborn, but you can't just claim land like that, right?"

"I can't believe he can set one up at all," Sid answered. "Domains are graduate-level stuff, and even then most people can only claim a room or something. A part of the forest, though? Well, I guess they don't call him the Silver Genius for nothing."

"He is a Seven, after all. He'd probably beat us easy in a fair fight, but in a Domain under his control where he has enhanced magic and he can control the ground? It'd be a massacre."

"Bah. One of these days, those high and mighty Blues are gonna get what's coming to 'em. Ah, shit."

"What is it?"

"I didn't have time to get dusk caps for my potion!"

Despite himself, Nathan couldn't help but laugh.

Main Street bustled with activity even at this early hour. Most were townsfolk getting ready to open up shop, but they spotted the occasional Academy student or two on their way to school. They also spotted one or two heading away from the school, but it's not like Nate and Sid had never skipped class before.

The Academy loomed in front of them, a grand structure of white marble that stood four floors high, not counting the towers that made up its corners. It was more a castle than a school, and could be used as a fortress if enemies ever managed to breach the city walls. Not that the Idivell Magocracy had any enemies worth fearing. The nation had only monsters on the fringes of civilization to contend with.

They crossed the cobblestone path with their fellow students, surrounded on either side by a lawn kept in prim shape by mages specializing in plant magic. Roughly in the middle of it all, the path opened up to a large circle with a grand fountain in the middle. To the left and right were the boys' and girls' dormitories, respectively, where the students from outside the city boarded. Nathan and Sid were native to the capital, but that never stopped Nathan from being awestruck by the size of the school. They continued down the path to where the Academy's large double doors welcomed them in.

The Great Foyer bustled with activity as students walked to class. A quick look at the massive clock over the entrance said they had fifteen minutes to get to first period. Nathan and Sid joined the majority of the students cramming towards the left hallways while a much smaller crowd took the opposite path. Nathan saw Landon out of the corner of his eye and waved. The Silver Genius glanced at him but otherwise gave no acknowledgement.

He would've wondered how Landon had gotten here before them, but being a Talented mage was like being able to cheat at life.

"Too bad first period's going to be such a buzzkill," Sid said as they walked. "Been a fun day so far and it's not even lunch time."

"Well, they had to put History first or no one would be awake for it," Nathan answered.

"As if anyone's awake now."

XXX

Professor Merigold couldn't have been more different from his namesake. He was an unpleasant little man with a head of salt and pepper hair figuratively too big for his shoulders. The history teacher claimed a lineage to a family who'd served one of the Seven Sages during the War, but no one believed they were still on good terms.

If they were, he'd be in a government office instead of teaching the average students of the Academy.

Nearly a third of the class were absent. Nathan lazily looked out the window, at the empty gardens. Class was in session, so any students outside were in for trouble, although he doubted students would cut class just to frolic in the garden. They were much more likely in one of the many shops on Main Street, eating sliced ham glazed with fruit jam. The thought made his stomach grumble since he'd only eaten bread before leaving with Sid, but it also brought him back to the lesson at hand.

"As you know, Seven's Crossing was founded by the Seven Sages, the first members of the Seven Noble Houses-"

Seeing Merigold busy with his monologuing, Nathan looked back out the window. He chanced a glance at Sid, who'd opted to sit away from him. Sid seemed unbothered by the morning's events, although Nathan doubted he heard a word of what Merigold was saying. Eight in the morning and they'd already been nearly trampled by a rock monster that came from nowhere. He hoped the rest of the day would be less dangerous to his well-being.

"Mister Grey."

It was already bad enough that he'd snuck out before dawn-

"Mister Grey!"

Nathan snapped back to attention, noticing first Merigold pointing a glare at him and the rest of the class wearing amused smirks. It seemed he would be this morning's entertainment. He shot out of his chair, standing straight as a street pole.

"Yes, professor?"

"Since you seem to be paying such rapt attention," Merigold drawled. "Perhaps you'd be inclined to tell us what contribution the Seven Sages had towards the Academy?"

Fortunately, he knew that much.

"Seven's Academy, as the name implies, was founded by the Seven Sages after the Necromancer War. The Seven Sages believed the hoarding of knowledge was why the Necromancer Kings came into power in the first place, and thus created the Academy to prevent it from ever happening again." He'd quoted the textbook almost word for word.

"Well, it seems not everyone in this class needs remedial lessons."

The class groaned.

"Unfortunately for you, I have better things to do than spend time teaching the Casual Class our nation's proud history."

They didn't have to endure Merigold's sermoning for long before the bell rang for next period. The rest of the morning was uneventful, although Nathan found Sid distant. Whenever he'd look away, Sid would be gone, no simple feat with his stature, but Nate had known Sid for years. The boy could be a shadow when he wanted to be.

As soon as the last period before lunch ended, the students crowded out of their rooms and into the hallways in a manic rush for food. Nathan had gotten bruised once or twice during the first year, but these days he could get away with just someone stepping on his foot. Still, the students tried not to be too rowdy, lest they risk the ire of the masked Disciplinaries who watched the halls like hawks.

The Cafeteria was wide enough to fit the student population comfortably, although that was partly because the Casual and the Talented classes had different dining arrangements.

Casual students with green jackets like Nathan and Sid were only allowed in the main dining area, but the blue-jacketed Talented had an exclusive cafe on the mezzanine. They weren't compelled to use it, but very few of them chose not to.

It seemed today, however, some of them were on the ground with the Casual students. As Nathan and Sid found themselves a seat, trays of food in hand, the other students seemed to turn their heads towards one corner of the Cafeteria. The two of them gave each other an uneasy look as a group of Casual students squared off against a smaller group of Talented ones.

It didn't take Nate long to identify who it was. Reggie was the tallest student in the Casual Class, towering over even Sid by a good half-inch. Opposite him was Xander of the Talented Class. Two students who for some reason seemed to have minions among their classmates, who flanked the two as they spoke.

Sid spoke first. "Looks like Reggie's boys aren't too happy with Xander and his friends."

"Not happy? He looks like hes' goign to strangle him," Nathan added. It wouldn't seem difficult given the size difference, but Xander was one of the Talented. Nathan had no doubt the latter could blow away all of Reggie's crew if he wanted.

Of course, inside the school with Disciplinaries nearby? He doubted Xander would take the bait.

As expected, the Disciplinaries soon arrived to break the two boys up before they made even more of a scene. Nathan was too far away to hear, but he knew Sid heard every word.

"What's he saying?" he asked.

"Just threatening Xander," Sid answered. "Over and over. But I'll bet it's because of that rumor going around."

"Rumor?"

Sid looked at him as he bit into his bread. "'Bout the epidemic."

"What epidemic?"

Sid rolled his eyes and sighed. "Should've known. It's a disease goin' around. Seems to only hit people from the Casual class."

"And… what does that have to do with Reggie and Xander fighting?"

"One of Reggie's boys caught it, I heard, and you know Xander. Worse than Landon. At least Landon doesn't go out of his way to be a dick, but Xander?" Sid shook his head. "That guy lives for it."

Nathan knew that much. He steered clear of Xander as much as possible. "Speaking of things I don't know, mind telling me about your little goat friend now?"

"Oh, you mean Skiddo?" Sid touched his amulet.

"Yeah. Where'd you get him?"

"I called him here. I'm not that surprised you dunno about Pokemon, looking back. You hardly need them."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nathan protested.

"Do I really have to explain? Your Constructs of rock and metal impress even the headmaster. You hardly need a Pokemon." Sid said. He looked like he wasn't going to continue, but Nathan stared at him until he wanted to talk. "Alright, alright. You know Derek Reeve?"

"The merchant prince?"

"Yeah, that's the one. He discovered them a few months back. Wrote a book on summoning and capturing them. Came out last month. Pokemon are very popular right now. They're pretty easy to summon compared to constructs or simulacra or whatever so even us Casuals can use 'em. I can show you later, if you like. We have Conjurations after lunch, right?"

"We do, and I gotta see that thing in action again."


	2. Conjurations 101

"I'm so dead," Sid Flynn said as he and Nathan looked at the names on the chalkboard.

_Sideas Flynn vs Kelina Caldecott_

"I don't disagree," Nate told him, placing a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder.

Conjurations was one of the more unique classes they had at the Academy, mostly because it was taught by a madman named Professor Anton Swiggert. Nathan liked him. No homework, almost no long lectures, and a subject where he wasn't absolute garbage? Conjurations might have been his favorite class. It took place in a wide, open room, with only a few bleachers at the sides. It was more like a gym than a classroom, really.

"Grow a spine, Flynn," a gruff voice said from the center of the room. "And don't actually die. Don't wanna have to explain that to Headmaster Vulcan."

Swiggert had arrived without ceremony, and it amazed Nathan just how undetected he always remained until he wanted to say anything. The whole room quieted down as he called their attention. Swiggert was old and grizzled, but by no means weak. A veteran of the Ogre Incursion, as he liked to remind his students, he kept himself in good physical condition in case the Peacekeepers ever called on him again.

Perhaps his background led to Conjurations' unique grading system. Students were graded based on combat in a controlled environment. The enchanted chalkboard on the wall would match students of similar skill to fight each other. However, on occasion, there would be upsets - like the top student of the class facing off against Sid, whom while by no means awful, belonged to the lower middle half of the class.

Nathan looked up at the board. His initial fight had been against Reggie, but seeing as how Reggie had been excused from class to be seen by the Disciplinaries for the stunt he'd pulled earlier, he currently had no sparring partner. Normally, he would have been fine with sitting down and just watching his classmates do their duels, but an opportunity had presented itself.

"Professor Swiggert?" he began.

"What is it, Grey?"

"I was wondering if you'd be averse to giving Kellina a handicap?"

At this, the girl in question looked up and asked "What did you have in mind, Nate?"

Kellina Caldecott was stunning, in her own way, with tanned skin topped with a head of short, black hair.

"I was going to suggest a two versus one," Nathan said. "Hear me out first. You're ranked so high right now that even if you beat Sid your rating wouldn't change much, but if you took us both on together?"

"That's true," Kellina said, then she grinned. "Still sore about your last duel with me, Nate?"

He shrugged, trying not to look too eager. "Maybe a little. Will you allow it, Professor?"

"If Caledcott's fine with it, I don't mind."

They had five minutes before the matches started, and Sid pulled Nathan to the side to strategize. "Thanks, Nate. What's your plan?"

"My Constructs, your Skiddo. We should be able to beat Kell."

Sid blinked at him. "That's your plan? Oh, boy. Do you not realize who you started a fight with?"

"Kellina Caldecott. Queen Kell to her fans. What's the matter? I almost beat her before."

"She's only the daughter of one of the most esteemed military families in the whole freaking country."

Nate shrugged. "I thought you didn't believe in all that bloodline crap."

"I don't, but Kell has military training, Nate." Sid looked at him, but Nate only grinned back. "Fine. You know what? Never mind. Not like we can weasel out of it now. But we do need a plan."

"How about my Constructs hold whatever she's got down and your Skiddo whips her summons to oblivion?"

"And the two of us do healing and shielding?" Sid sighed. "It's better than nothing, I guess."

They proceeded to their positions on the field. Sid called Skiddo out of his amulet like he had that morning.

Nathan held his amulet, and deployed the constructs he'd built. He'd prepared several over the week, and called forth five of them. They burst out of his amulet in flashes of light. Each stood five feet tall on two legs, with three wielding a shield and spear in each hand. The other two stood a bit behind, brandishing massive iron warhammers. He thought he'd outdone himself this time.

Kellina looked at them from across the field, and touched her amulet. Light spilled out of her amulet, and two spider figurines appeared in her hands.

"Using your simulacra again, Kell?" Nate asked. They were copies of real creatures, although technically not living.

"Not everyone has the time to work metal all afternoon," she anwswered as she tossed the spiders to the ground. Rather than shattering, the fragile-looking figurines began to grow.

Two giant spiders clicked their mandibles, each as large as a grown dog. But Nathan had seen these before. What surprised him was the third shape that blasted out of Kell's amulet. It was a blue-colored creature standing on its hind legs, its face and body similar to a hercules beetle with a humanoid shape. The creature spotted Sid and Nathan's combined forces and took up a fighting stance, saying "Heracross."

"Sid, is that a-"

"I think so, but I'm not familiar with that one," his friend answered.

Kellina answered for him. "I think you haven't met Heracross. I already had her during our last bout, but I didn't have time to figure her out yet."

"What type is she?" Sid asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Kellina gave them a confident smirk before turning to Professor Swiggert for the signal to start.

Swiggert gave a nod, and the three of them sprang into action.

Nathan started off by casting Barrier, then modifying it to cover all of his constructs plus Skiddo. He'd built his constructs for sturdiness rather than power, but it didn't hurt to cover your bases. Unfortunately, making six Barriers at once was close to his limit. He watched Sid cast his own support spells on the Skiddo.

"Flynn!" Swiggert yelled from the side. "What did I tell you about using too much mana at once? This is how you lost last time, too!"

He winced. It really was one of his problem areas. There was a limit to how much each individual mage could use before their body overheated.

Kellina hadn't used a single spell, only gestured for her summons to act. The two spiders reared back, launching sticky web at his constructs. The white substance stopped short as the air around the three closest constructs flickered, the shields doing their part. They remained safe inside their bubbles, but the sheer amount of webbing slowed them down anyway.

"Not this time, Kell!" Nathan said as his two Hammerers circled around the wall of webbing to hit the spiders.

"Heracross, Brick Break!" Kellina commanded,and the blue beetle charged to intercept, her hands glowing with power.

"My constructs are made of iron, Kell, they're not going to fall to-"

The Heracross ducked under one Hammerer's strike, taking advantage of how the giant hammer couldn't hit something too close the wielder, and slammed her fist into the construct's arms, smashing the Shield and bending the iron out of shape. She struck again with her other fist, almost punching a hole through the construct. It fell to the ground, motionless.

During the lapse in his concentration, the Spiders had taken the time to immobilize his other Hammerer. Then, without warning, Sid's Skiddo leaped over his Lancers, vines lashing the webbing off of them.

"Get your head in the game, Nate!" Sid yelled.

He shook himself. Sid was right. The fight was still five versus three in their favor. His Lancers formed a shield wall, advancing forward with lances in position to skewer the enemy. Skiddo freed his one remaining Hammerer and they advanced, pushing into Kell's side of the field.

And then the shield wall exploded. The Lancers were blasted back, scattered with their iron bodies bent and broken. Nathan stared in confusion, unable to process what had just happened.

Before he could make sense of it all, the Heracross dispatched the remaining Hammerer like she had the first, leaving only Skiddo to face off against the two spiders and Heracross.

"I - what -"

The Spiders aimed more webbing at the Skiddo, who tried his hardest to fend them off with his whips.

"Heracross, Pin Missile!"

Heracross flanked Skiddo as the Spiders kept it busy. The beetle's hands began to glow again, a shade of green this time as needles of light launched from her hands, striking the Skiddo. The goat Pokemon, unable to defend from so many angles at once, fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Looks like my win," Kellina declared, and it was only then Nathan realized she was panting. He hadn't noticed her casting anything, but it was clear Kell had worked magic.

"How?" Nate feebly asked, turning to Sid, but Sid wasn't there. Nate's eyes instictively traced a line from where Sid had been standing to their opponent, finding Sid only inches from Kellina's Barrier.

His dagger was in his hand, poised to strike, but Sid had stopped moving. Kell's spiders had moved in front of their master. Despite her apparent exhaustion, Kellina smiled triumphantly.

Sid relaxed his posture, sheathing the blade. "Good match, Kell,"

Nathan looked between them, still unsure how the battle had ended so quickly.

"I - how -"

"You lost sight of your opponent," Swiggert told him. "You were so focused on Caldecott's summons you didn't notice she'd been preparing an Overcharged Earth Blast. The explosion came from beneath your Lancer constructs."

"But the Barriers-"

Kellina interrupted him. "You spread them too wide, Nate." It looked like she wanted to say more, but her breathing was far too heavy. The Earth Blast must have taken a lot out of her.

"At ease, Caldecott." Swiggert smiled. "Let me actually do some teaching for once. Vulcan always says I don't talk enough. The shields on your Lancers were used up trying to keep the web off of them. When Caldecott here released her spell, they had no magic protection whatsoever. Finally, Heracross' Brick Break is highly effective against Barriers. Caldecott knew your tricks, and planned accordingly. That goes for you, too, Flynn. A sneak attack doesn't work so well in a controlled environment."

Sid nodded. "Had to try."

Ah. Nathan should've realized. He'd had the advantage in strength and numbers, but Kellina was a Casual too. She wasn't on top because she had incredible magic. She was on top because she knew how to fight, training to be a Peacekeeper and all.

"Good match, Kell," he managed to say before looking for the nearest seat. His vision was swimming.

He couldn't believe he'd lost. They'd had such a large advantage.

Sid put a hand on his shoulder. "Shake it off, Nate, it's fine. I was gonna lose anyway if I fought her one on one."

"Her Pokemon was too strong," Nathan complained.

"Well, I admit Heracross is strong, but that's not the only reason we lost."

"These Constructs were made out of iron, Sid! Her Heracross tore through them like they were paper."

"No, Heracross tore through two of them. The other three we lost because we didn't realize what Kell was planning."

"If only I had a Pokemon," Nathan muttered.

"Give it a rest, Nate. You make the best Constructs in our year. You gotta be proud of what you can do. I'd never win a Conjurations duel without a Pokemon, but this is only… what? Your second loss this semester?"

"Yeah," Nate grumbled. "Both to Kell."

"See? That's nothing to be ashamed of. Kell's a beast."

"Yeah, yeah. I hear you. My rating's gonna drop so hard, though."

Of course, he'd wound up complaining about it all the way until classes were over for the day. Sid had resigned himself to just nodding as they crossed the courtyard, although Nathan suspected he'd long since stopped listening. That was fine. He just needed to get it off his chest.


End file.
